


Spinning

by silentdescant



Series: Snapshots [42]
Category: Pentatonix, Superfruit
Genre: Closeted Character, F/M, High School, Kissing Games, M/M, Spin the Bottle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-20
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-09-18 18:13:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9397151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silentdescant/pseuds/silentdescant
Summary: Scott sits down across from Mitch. They’ll all kiss anyone—they all have kissed each other, for the most part, either as a joke or a performance or for real. They’re an incestuous little theatre troupe, Scott’s friends. Except for Mitch, who’s younger, who doesn’t hang out with them regularly.





	

Mitch is the youngest person here—the only junior at a party full of seniors—but nobody seems to care. Scott felt weird at first, inviting a younger kid, but everyone loves Mitch, and most of the people here know him already anyway. Mitch is weird and funny and outrageous, which makes him a big hit. It’s like he’s a novelty, Scott’s quirky, flamboyantly gay friend, the entertainer in a group full of performers.

Someone twirls a bottle and slaps it down on the floor with a decisive, “We’re playing, come on.”

“Come on, Mitch,” someone else shouts.

“Mitch’ll kiss anyone.”

Scott sits down across from Mitch. They’ll all kiss anyone—they all have kissed each other, for the most part, either as a joke or a performance or for real. They’re an incestuous little theatre troupe, Scott’s friends. Except for Mitch, who’s younger, who doesn’t hang out with them regularly.

Mitch seizes the bottle laughs, saying he might as well go first, since he’ll kiss anybody. Everyone cheers and hollers at him, and he spins. It spins and spins and spins and lands on Will, and Scott’s stomach clenches. Will doesn’t even know Mitch very well. And sure, everyone appreciates Mitch crawling across the floor and giving Will a slobbery, exaggerated kiss on the lips, but Scott feels like they’re all intruding, like they shouldn’t get to see Mitch do this, because they don’t _know him_ like Scott does.

The moment passes. Will spins and kisses Elizabeth, sweet and chaste. Elizabeth spins and kisses Angela, both of them laughing the whole time. Angela spins and kisses Scott. It’s nice and it feels like they’re on stage. Scott spins.

The bottle spins and spins and spins. Too much force. Scott holds his breath and waits for it to slow. 

It lands on Mitch. Kind of. It points at his knee, almost at the two inches of space between him and Kirstie. Scott stares at the bottle, stares at the tiny gap between Mitch’s leg and Kirstie’s. Jaimie squeals and shoves Mitch’s shoulder, knocking Mitch sideways into Kirstie. Everyone’s laughing, and Mitch is playing coy, biting his lip and batting his eyelashes. His dark eyes sparkle and Scott says, “Mitch already had a turn, though. It was between you two.”

It wasn’t, not really, but Kirstie blushes bright pink and Scott shuffles across the floor to her. Mitch is grinning, and Kirstie’s giggling, and Scott touches her cheek. She’s so warm, and Scott’s face flames red to match as he presses their lips together, and everyone around the circle crows and laughs and applauds.

When Scott retreats to his place across the circle, Mitch is staring at Kirstie. His smile is frozen on his face. Is he thinking about her? Is he remembering what it was like to kiss her? He looks over at Scott then, his expression strangely soft. The mischievous glimmer in his eyes has muted.

Kirstie kisses someone, who kisses someone else, who kisses someone else, and the game continues. Mitch kisses a few more people and he makes it different each time, like scenes from a play. Scott kisses two more people, and then Kirstie again, and that’s how the game ends.

The party winds down and people filter out, kissing Scott on the cheek and calling out ‘happy birthday’ as they walk to their cars. Kirstie lingers until she and Mitch are the only ones left. She’s swaying a little, and Scott can tell she’s nervous by the way she laughs. He wraps his arms around her and lifts her off her feet and she squeals and giggles and slaps at him.

“Mitchell! Do want me to drive you home?” Kirstie asks when they reach the front door.

“I’m spending the night,” Mitch says. This is news to Scott, but he doesn’t question it.

“Oh, okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“For sure. Rehearsal.”

“I’ll see you in class,” Scott adds.

He and Mitch wave goodbye until Kirstie pulls out of the driveway and disappears around the corner. Scott herds Mitch back inside and closes the door.

“You’re spending the night?” Scott asks.

“No,” Mitch replies, like the idea is absurd. Like he didn’t just tell Kirstie exactly that.

“Then… Are you leaving? It’s too far to walk.”

Mitch shrugs. “Then drive me home.”

He turns on his heel to head for Scott’s garage. Scott, bewildered, trails after him.

The short drive to Mitch’s house is silent, but for the radio. Mitch doesn’t say anything, and he doesn’t sing along, and Scott’s too confused to focus on the music anyway. His stomach is churning. He’s always doing something wrong, and now Mitch is upset and Scott doesn’t know how to fix it, and he just wants Mitch to like him again.

He parks on the street outside Mitch’s house and waits.

Eventually, Mitch says, “You didn’t want to kiss me.”

Scott looks over at him. “It’s not that I—”

Mitch surges forward and closes the distance between them. His lips are soft and warm and Scott melts into him, breathless. After a moment, Mitch pulls back a few inches, panting. Scott can feel his breaths.

“Are you gonna ask Kirstie out?” Mitch whispers.

Scott hesitates. He licks his lips. His stomach is in knots now, fluttery from the kiss but twisting in panic. His body doesn’t know how to react, can’t keep up with the thoughts spinning through his brain.

“Yes,” he whispers back.

Mitch kisses him again, tenderly and briefly. Then he sits back in his seat and pulls his lower lip into his mouth, biting it as if tasting Scott there. He says, “Okay.” Then, “Happy birthday, Scotty.”

The car door opens and Mitch disappears, and Scott doesn’t even wait for him to go inside. He drives home on autopilot, blinking furiously. He should’ve just kissed Mitch during the game, when it was meaningless, because now… Now it means too much.

 

_fin_


End file.
